Pubdate: Mon, 18 Aug 2014
Source: Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (WA)
Copyright: 2014 Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Contact:  http://www.union-bulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2619
Author: Robert H. Schaeffer

ADDING TO 'AGONY AND ECSTASY' ARTICLE

The article, "Agony and Ecstasy" appearing in the U-B Aug. 8 needs
supplementation. Multiple recent scientific studies strongly suggest
that the illegal drug, MDMA, Ecstasy, may have real and permanent
value when used in conjunction with psychotherapy in the treatment of
post-traumatic stress disorder.

The experiments needed to demonstrate this were long delayed by the
political and public perception that any drug based on amphetamine was
automatically bad and was therefore designated illegal, severely
restricting any research that might demonstrate otherwise. The fact
that methamphetamine, "Speed," is all bad does not mean its distant
cousin MDMA is equally bad.

In England this debate reached its head when Dr. David Nutt, the
director of the Council on the Misuse of Drugs, was fired for publicly
writing and stating the dangers of using Ecstasy were about equal to
those of riding horseback.

One benefit of the recent laws on marijuana use is the probability the
user will get a standard dose of a quality product. Any user who
trusts an illegal supplier is a fool. For example, most "street"
peyote and mescaline contain neither of these drugs, but rather are a
mixture of marijuana and whatever other psychedelics the dealer has in
stock at the time.

Illegal dealers lie! Notice in the media how often celebrities,
"overdose" deaths are reported.

Today, the scientific evidence strongly suggests that using marijuana
before the human brain is fully developed, about the mid-twenties, is
a bad idea. Of course, the dose and frequency of use matters, but how
little or much is safe is not known.

What is known that five "joints" a day for 10 or more years produces
severe and permanent brain damage, but then a similar dose of alcohol
is also bad. And there is nothing good that can be said for tobacco
use.

It is not known whether or not one joint per day for one year results
in permanent damage to an 18-year-old. The excessive use of any
substance including water, oxygen, aspirin or Tylenol can be dangerous
and the age of the user does matter.

For detailed knowledge concerning the total legal (alcohol and
tobacco) and illegal drug scene, read: "Drugs Without the Hot Air" by
Dr. David Nutt, available in a PB edition. His last chapter: "What
Should I Tell My Kids About Drugs" is a masterpiece that should be
read by all parents. See the Internet: drugscience.org.uk.

We humans are social creatures, and generally children will model
their behavior first of all on that of their parents or other adults
with whom they have strong connections, then peers and gangs. They
will do as these models do rather than what they are told to do or not
do.

Robert H. Schaeffer, M.D. (retired)

Walla Walla
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